It’s not much, but it’s definitely something. Singer has used social media to his advantage for this film, confirming returning stars and keeping fans up to date with the status of the project. It’s something we saw Jeff Wadlow do a lot for Kick-Ass 2, and it’s something we hope more directors adopt going forward.

During a recent interview with Empire, Singer eased fans’ concerns with the direction he’s taking with Days of Future Past. The X-Men director promised the movie would be “epic,” especially since he gets to bring both the old and new X-Men casts together.

“I’m taking into account every movie – I’m not just grabbing my first two movies and First Class and smashing them together,” he said. “I’m taking into account the entire universe as it’s been laid out so far on the screen, and really respecting it and trying to work with that. People took things in various directions, so there’s some clean-up. But ultimately I’m not just ignoring them either.”

The 1981 Days of Future Past story by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, which appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #141-142, depicts a timeline created by the X-Men’s failure to prevent the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants from assassinating a U.S. senator. In that alternate future, the giant robotic Sentinels have become the de facto rulers of the United States, where mutants are hunted down and placed in internment camps.

The film brings together original X-Men stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page and Shawn Ashmore with First Class actors James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult. It’s due in theaters July 18, 2014.